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Committee backs biometric verification for Medicaid providers; notarization allowed as fallback
Summary
AB315, sponsored by Assemblywoman Rebecca Edgeworth, would require identity verification for Medicaid providers to curb provider-side fraud. Nevada Medicaid testified biometric enrollment will be available online by the end of summer; notarization remains an alternative.
Assemblywoman Rebecca Edgeworth told the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services on May 13 that Assembly Bill 315 seeks to reduce provider-side Medicaid fraud by requiring stronger identity verification for providers. Edgeworth said the measure would make it harder for bad actors to enroll and bill Medicaid under false identities.
Stacy Weeks, representing Nevada Medicaid, described an ongoing modernization of provider enrollment that will include biometric verification. Weeks told the committee the biometric process—designed to capture proof of identity online—should be available by the end of the summer; providers who do not use the online biometric tool can still submit paper applications and complete notarization. Weeks said the online system is intended to be faster and to reduce the administrative burden over time.
Edgeworth said the bill was developed in collaboration with the Attorney General’s Medicaid fraud investigators and that notarization was retained as an alternative to ensure investigators could pursue cases where biometric access was not available. Teresa Benitez Thompson, chief of staff to Attorney General Ford, testified in neutral and described the AG’s office role in housing the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit under federal statute.
Committee members asked about implementation timing and administrative burden; Weeks answered that the online biometric option should be operational by late summer, and that notarization is already available.
Action: The committee voted to amend and do pass AB315; the transcript shows the sponsor added Vice Chair Taylor as a cosponsor during the work session. The bill’s effective date as stated in the transcript is July 1, 2025.
Ending: Supporters described the change as a targeted step to protect Medicaid dollars by reducing enrollment fraud; details on enrollment fees and vendor timelines were discussed but no fiscal estimates for the committee action were included in the transcript.
